Very well then! I'll write, write write. He let the words soak into his mind and displace all else. - Richard Matheson
Good morning my friends,
Lately, for my artistic practice and current curiosity kick, I’ve been reading about rare minerals (my passion from my undergrad), mine locations, and the processing of these minerals from the ore. There are interesting questions to explore around globalization, environment, and defense.
So, I’ve been working and testing 3D generative asset creation using CGAL (a computational geometry library) to recreate some growth algorithms from scratch and combine some organic and inorganic processes. Think Neri Oxman Lab + Laura Gonzalez, + Dan Hurd together in a project that will either be 3D printed.
I’ve been able to replicate some of these processes in Houdini. However, I’ve wanted to build it from scratch. We shall see what type of journey I’ve started and where it will go.
But it’s a more extended project.. and I’ll update as I hit some milestones.
I hope you have a great week!
Chris
P.S. Here are some interesting 3D generation libraries outside of 3D software (a.k.a Blender, Rhino3D, Maya, etc)to look into:
Came across Ben Heim on Instagram the other day and thought his work was surreal and enjoyable to watch. His workflow is mainly TouchDesigner, but he also mixes in musical composition into his work, including outboard gear and photogrammetry.
Automaton is an animation engine for creative coding. While you're doing creative coding, doing time-based animation by code sometimes causes you so much pain. This project provides a framework and its GUI to connect your coding pieces with animations.
While a lot of fellow developers spent this year’s advent on solving this year’s Advent of Code puzzles, I decided to have my own little “advent.” A few weeks before December, I’ve stumbled upon an awesome generative art project by developer and artist Lingong Huang. It generates infinite (and surprisingly varying) scrolls of Chinese paintings.
The analysis of the code is a very worthwhile read if you haven’t already taken the time to do your own study of Lingong’s work. I’ve been following Lingong Huang’s Github repo for a couple of years as the work/experiments he has done are always extremely technical and the next level of work. Currently, he is working with Zach Lieberman at the MIT Media Lab. Some day I do hope to be able to pick his brain.
Poisson Flow Generative Models (PFGMs) are a new type of generative Deep Learning model, taking inspiration from physics much like Diffusion Models. Learn the theory behind PFGMs and how to generate images with them in this easy-to-follow guide.
A visual technique library for visual technique lovers
This is a really interesting resource (take a good 30 minutes and savor the techniques) to generate a few more ideas around visual techniques that can be further discovered and then implemented. It’s more of a media art but some interesting techniques that could be recreated in shaders.
I’ve wondered about alien minds for a long time—and tried all sorts of ways to imagine what it might be like to see things from their point of view. But in the past I’ve never really had a way to build my intuition about it. That is, until now. So, what’s changed? It’s AI. Because in AI we finally have an accessible form of alien mind.
Introduce nature and biology to your architectural forms with the architect and generative designer, Chantal Matar. She has developed a unique and distinct style that stems from her passion for art, and her experience with avant-garde studios such as Zaha Hadid Architects. She recreates shapes in nature in her product and building designs using generative art techniques. Exploring the powerful software Houdini and its trail system, which are vectors that follow an organic path as they form, Chantal gives her pieces an important spatial dimension
I look at other technologies that serve similar functions. For example, I work in finance/accounting. Tools that help me in my work are things like calculators and spreadsheets. I think less people have basic math skills because of these tools, which means less people participate in math related activities. Generative coding will have a parallel impact, I believe. There will be less people involved in coding in general.
I look at other technologies that serve similar functions. For example, I work in finance/accounting. Tools that help me in my work are things like calculators and spreadsheets. I think less people have basic math skills because of these tools, which means less people participate in math related activities. Generative coding will have a parallel impact, I believe. There will be less people involved in coding in general.